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Malt house sees tremendous growth in Michigan

A craft malter says falling commodities prices are helping them find farmers more willing to plant malting barley.

President and founder of Pilot Malt House Erik May tells Brownfield he and a home brewing friend started buying barley online through Amazon to see if they could create their own malt. In the last four years, the business has grown from planting 10 acres of malting barley with one farmer to a 3,000 acre crop they’re contracted this year.  “Three years ago I started literally going door to door and as I drove by country roads, I’d look for a combine ideally with a grain head on it and say, ‘Well they could do it.’”

He says while the craft beer industry gets most of the attention for a need for more local malting barley, they equally supply to distilleries and home brewers.  “There’s a reason that the barley is grown out west, they get triple the yields and the climate is much more conducive to small grains.”

May says during their first year working with farmers there was only one variety of barley available in Michigan.  “We realized that barley wasn’t really grown here, it could be, can be and now is in higher numbers than it has been in decades.”

He says they are now partnering with Michigan State University and others to research barley varieties that are geared toward the malting industry.

AUDIO: Interview with Erik May